July 16, 2003
Paddling through history
Museum exhibit spotlights human-powered watercraft
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The Paddling Through the Ages exhibit traces the history and importance of human-powered craft throughout the history of this region and the country.
The exhibit, which will be at the Con Foster Museum in the Grand Traverse Heritage Center through October 4, includes a dugout canoe, a birchbark canoe, a replica Greenland kayak and a 26-foot long replica voyager canoe. This large canoe seated at least nine paddlers and up to three passengers. It was used for both exploration and commerce.
Since the advent of the steam ship in the 1800s, paddling craft were relegated to recreational roles. Reflecting this, the exhibit also includes samples of modern canoes and kayaks plus information on local paddling venues and the Cherry Capital Paddling Club. Children can enjoy the Paddle to the Sea game based on a children's book of the same name, tracing a small carved canoe on its journey through the Great Lakes.
"The main thing we were looking for was to have a fun summer exhibit," noted Daniel Truckey, director of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center. "Considering that canoeing and kayaking are really big summer activities in this area, we just thought it would be cool to have some that dealt with summer recreation."
The exhibit documents the historical importance of the canoe in exploring, settling and living in North America, especially in the Great Lakes region. Displays of historic photos cover both paddling in the Grand Traverse region and other parts of the country.
"Paddling is a really historical thing for the country and paddling a canoe in particular," Truckey said. "The early fur trading was all done by canoe and they are very integral to the history of the country."
The Paddling Through the Ages exhibit also includes a number of model ships, including a large, detailed model of the sloop Welcome and other boats that sailed the Great Lakes. The Welcome is an historic recreation being built by members of the Maritime Heritage Alliance that is scheduled for completion next year.
Maritime Heritage Alliance volunteer Howard Byrne, who is part of the team building the sloop Welcome, built the smaller-scale Welcome showcased in the exhibit. This project was a labor of love that took him 3,000 man hours to complete.
Byrne originally intended his model to have an open side so he painstakingly completed the ship's interior.
"The inside is all finished but you can't see it because it is all closed up," he noted. "But if a good Irish Leprechaun wanted to live in there he could do so very comfortably."
Another local connection is the model of Perry Hannah's yacht, the Clara Belle, which is also included in the Paddling Through the Ages exhibit. Byrne built this model and also restored a number of other models on display.
Byrne is pleased that the exhibit highlights the contribution that canoes and ships have made to the region.
"I think this is a good exhibit, a wonderful exhibit," Byrne said. "It is a shame that sometimes we think more of, say, the Blue Angels of the Cherry Festival, and we've got this beautiful bay in front of us with all these wonderful boats. And all these tall ships we've got - there's no other bay in Michigan that has so many."
Upcoming events associated with the Paddling Through the Ages exhibit include a back country cooking class at 7 p.m. this on Monday. This class will be held at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center and will teach basic camping culinary skills.
The Heritage Center will also offer a class on paddling techniques and a kayak trip to Old Mission. Both events will be held in August.
The Grand Traverse Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information on the Paddling Through the Ages exhibit or associated events, call the center at 995-0313.